Method Of Providing Sectional Control During Seeding Of a Field Using A Farm Implement

ABSTRACT

A seed metering assembly for a farm implement has a meter roller that can be accessed and removed in a relatively quick manner. The seed metering assembly includes a fluted meter roller that is segmented into a number of discrete fluted sections. Each fluted section has an associated flow control member that is selectively operable to impede the flow of granular material from a seed hopper to its corresponding section of the fluted meter roller.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to farm implements and, more particularly,to a quick-change seed metering assembly capable of sectional control.

Air seeders are commonly towed by tractors to apply seed, fertilizer, ormicro-nutrients or any granular product to a field. For purposes of thisapplication “seeding” shall include the application or deposition of anygranular or particulate material onto a field. It is generallyadvantageous to tow an air seeder in combination with a tillingimplement, one behind the other, to place the seed and fertilizer underthe surface of the soil. An air seeder has as its central component awheeled seed cart which comprises one or more frame-mounted seed tanksfor holding product, generally seed or fertilizer or both. Air seedersalso generally include a volumetric metering system operable to measurea fixed volume of seed per unit of linear distance and a pneumaticdistribution system for delivering the product from the tank to thesoil.

The volumetric metering system is configured for distribution of productfrom the tank to the distribution headers of the seed tubes. Themetering system typically includes a meter roller assembly employingaugers or fluted cylinders (meter rollers) situated in a meter boxassembly secured below the tank.

Typically the meter box will have a series of outlets known as runs thateach leads to the distribution lines of the pneumatic distributionsystem. The pneumatic distribution system generally includes an airstream operable to carry product metered by the meter roller assemblythrough the distribution lines to a series of secondary distributionmanifolds (“headers”), which in turn distribute product to a group ofground openers mounted on the seeding implement operable to place seedin the ground. The ground openers are configured to evenly deliver theproduct to the span of ground (the “seedbed”) acted upon by the seedingimplement

One of the drawbacks of conventional meter roller assemblies is thedifficulty and time required to replace the meter roller assembly in ameter box assembly. As a meter roller assembly will generally have aprofile that is suited to a particular type or size of granularmaterial, it can sometimes be required for a farmer to switch-out themeter roller assembly of a meter box assembly between seedings. Forexample, meter roller assemblies with extra fine profiles are typicallyused when applying micronutrients or very small seeds such as alfalfa,grass, canola or grain sorghum at very low rates. Fine meter rollerassemblies are typically used to apply barley, oats, flax, millet andmoderate rates of fertilizer. Coarse rollers are used for high rates oflarger seeds such as corn and beans, and for solid seeding, and extracoarse rollers are typically used for larger and fragile seeds like peasand large beans as well as high rates of fertilizer. So as a farmer'sseed and/or fertilizer requirements change so too may the need toreplace the meter roller assembly with a more appropriate assembly.While conventional meter roller assemblies are generallyinterchangeable, the construction of such conventional assemblies canmake it difficult to perform such a task.

Another drawback of conventional meter roller assemblies is thedifficulty in achieving sectional control. Due to the increasing cost ofseed and fertilizer, the agronomic disadvantage and waste associatedwith redundant application of seed and fertilizer, and the increasingsize of seed drills, efforts have been made to selectively shut off theflow of granular material to selected distribution lines. Variousapproaches have been implemented to provide sectional control and withmodest success; nevertheless, there remains a need for a meter rollerassembly capable of providing sectional control.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to seed metering assembly overcomingthe aforementioned drawbacks. The seed metering assembly is constructedso that its meter roller can be interchanged as needed with improvedefficiency. Moreover, the seed metering assembly includes a fluted meterroller that is segmented into a number of discrete fluted sections. Eachfluted section has an associated flow control member that is selectivelyoperable to impede the flow of granular material from a seed hopper toits corresponding section of the fluted meter roller.

The flow control member can take many forms. In one form, the flowcontrol member includes an arm having a curved member that when placedbetween a corresponding section of the fluted meter roller and thedischarge end of the seed hopper substantially slows the flow ofgranular material through the corresponding section of the meter roller.The arm is movable by a linkage to pivot the arm, and thus the curvedmember.

The fluted meter roller is contained in a bulkhead that is positionedadjacent the discharge end of the seed hopper. The bulkhead has a set ofdischarge ports that are in fluid communication with distribution lines.The bulkhead also has a drainage port and a drain panel that selectivelyopens and closes the draining port. When the drainage port is open,granular material can be drained from the seed hopper. In oneembodiment, the drainage port is sized such that the meter roller may beremoved from bulkhead through the open port. In another embodiment, thebulkhead has an access panel that selectively opens and closes an accessopening formed in the bulkhead generally opposite the drainage port. Inthis embodiment, the meter roller may be removed from the bulkheadthrough the access opening. The meter roller is rotatably mounted to thebulkhead by a pair of bearing assemblies.

The bulkhead also includes a series of dividers that prevent the flow ofgranular material between adjacent sections of the fluted meter roller.

Other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however,that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way ofillustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications maybe made within the scope of the present invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a seed metering assembly accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is section view of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1 shownwhen operating to meter seed to a set of distribution lines;

FIG. 5 is a section view of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1 shownwith a sectional flow control gate in a closed position to prevent theflow of granular material to meter roller assembly of the seed meteringassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a section view of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1 shownwith a drain panel in an open position for draining the seed meteringassembly of granular product;

FIG. 7 is a section view of the seed metering assembly of HG. 1 shownwith a rotor access panel in an open position for removing the rollerassembly from a bulkhead of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8-10 are section views of the seed metering assembly of FIG. Iillustrating stages of removing the meter roller assembly from the seedmetering assembly;

FIG. 11 is a section view of a seed metering assembly according to analternate embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a section w of the seed metering assembly of FIG. 11 with adrain panel in an open position for draining granular material from theseed metering assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a seed metering assembly 10 for an airseeder (not shown) includes a bulkhead 12 mounted adjacently below ahopper 14. The hopper 14, which is of conventional construction, has afeed end 16 which allows seed or other granular material to be loadedinto the hopper and a discharge end 18 having an opening 20 for passinggranular material from the hopper 14 to the bulkhead 12. The bulkhead 12defines a cavity 22 containing a meter roller assembly 24.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, the meter roller assembly 24includes a rotor 25 that is rotatably mounted to bulkhead 24 by bearingassemblies 26, 28. The engagement of opposed ends of the rotor 25 withthe bearing assemblies 26, 28 allows the rotor to rotate within thebulkhead 12. Formed along the length of the rotor 25 are severaldiscrete fluted sections 30 a-l, with adjacent fluted sections spacedfrom another by blank (non-fluted) sections 32 a-k. It will beappreciated that the invention is not limited to any particular fluteprofile. As known in the art, when the rotor 25 rotates, the flutedsections 30 a-l capture granular material as it falls from the hopper 14and passes the captured granular material to a distribution network 34.The distribution network 34 has two sets of distribution runs 36 a-l and38 a-l, with each discrete fluted section designed to feed granularmaterial to a pair of distribution runs. For example, discrete flutedsection 30 a provides granular material to distribution runs 36 a and 38a. Each pair of distribution runs has a diverter valve 40 that allowsflow to one of the runs to be closed, if desired.

Referring briefly back to FIG. 1, the bulkhead 12 includes bulkheaddividers 42 a-k along the length of the bulkhead 12. The bulkheaddividers align with the blank or non-fluted sections of the meter rollerassembly 26. The bulkhead dividers partition the cavity 22 into severalsub-cavities 44 a-l along the length of the bulkhead 12. Each sub-cavityis thus associated with a respective one of the fluted sections of themeter roller assembly 26. The bulkhead dividers segregate neighboringsub-cavities from one another and thus create a barrier against granularmaterial passing between sub-cavities.

In addition to the bulkhead dividers 42 a-k, U-shaped divider clips 46a-k slide onto the bulkhead dividers 42 a-k after the rotor 25 is loadedinto the bulkhead 12. As will be described in greater detail below, therotor 25 may be removed from the bulkhead in a relatively quick andefficient manner. To facilitate this removal, when the clips aredetached from the divides, the rotor 25 can be lifted out of thebulkhead. When the rotor is loaded into the bulkhead, the clips are slidonto their individual bulkhead dividers to complete the partitioning ofthe bulkhead cavity into the aforementioned sub-cavities. In a preferredembodiment, the divider clips slide onto the bulkhead dividers, but itis understood that other types of attaching could be used.

The meter housing 14, in one preferred embodiment, has a pair of serviceopenings. One service opening is a drain port 48 that is formed in thelower end of the meter housing 14. The drain port 48, when opened,allows granular material to be drained from the hopper and meterhousing, as best shown in FIG. 6. The drain port 48 is selectivelyopened and closed by a drain door or panel 50 that is pivotably mountedto the hopper 14 by linkage 52.

With reference to FIG. 7, generally opposite the drain port 48 is anaccess opening 54. The access opening 54 is sized to allow removal ofthe rotor 25 when disconnected from the rotor bearings 26, 28. Theaccess opening 54 is opened and closed by an access panel 56 that ispivotably mounted to a lower end of the bulkhead 12 by linkage 58.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present inventionprovides a metering assembly in which the meter roller assembly can bequickly interchanged with a rotor having another profile. Moreparticularly and with reference to FIGS. 8-10, the rotor 25 can bereplaced in a relatively straightforward manner. In a first step, theaccess panel 56 is moved to the open position by pivoting linkage 58.The linkage 58 can be done manually or in a mechanized manner using oneof any known means. With the access panel 56 in the open position, whichis shown in FIG. 8, the cavity of the meter housing is exposed. Thisallows an operator to remove the U-shaped divider clips from engagementwith the bulkhead dividers 42. Next, one of the bearing housings, e.g.,bearing housing 26, is disengaged from its respective end of the rotor25, as shown in FIG. 9. It will be appreciated that the bearing housings26, 28 engaged ends of the rotor 25 in a conventional manner. With oneof the bearing housings removed, the rotor can be slid linearly awayfrom the other bearing housing. Alternately, the other bearing housingcould be removed in a manner similar to the removal of the first bearingassembly. With the rotor 25 dislodged from engagement with the hearingassemblies 26, 28, the rotor can then be lifted out of the meter housing12 as shown in FIG. 10. The rotor, or a replacement rotor, can be thenplaced into the meter housing 12 and secured to the bearing housings ina conventional manner then the divider clips can be reinstalled and theaccess panel 56 may then be moved to the closed position.

in addition to providing a quick-change metering assembly, the presentinvention also provides a series of sectional shut-off assemblies 60.There is a shut-off assembly 60 a-l for each fluted section of the meterroller assembly. Each shut-off assembly 60 has a control arm 62 and aconcave curved member 64. Each control arm 62 is pivotably coupled tothe bulkhead 12 and movable between first and section positions by arespective drive linkage (not shown). In one embodiment, when the aircart is equipped with more than one meter, two or more meters can becontrolled by one control or actuator arm with a connector link joiningthe shut-off assemblies of the corresponding runs so that granular flowfrom each of the meters to a shared run is stopped at the same time. Inthe first or open position, which is shown in FIG. 4, the curved membersare moved out of the meter housing 12. It will be appreciated that thebulkhead 12 has a series of guide plates 66 and each curved memberslides along its respective guide plate when being moved between thefirst and the second positions.

Each curved member 64 has a width that is substantially equal to thewidth between the bulkhead dividers framing the sub-cavity. Thus, whenthe shut-off assembly is moved to the lowered or closed position, whichis shown in FIG. 5, the curved member 64 is disposed between the meterroller assembly 24 and the discharge opening 20 of the hopper 16. In oneembodiment, the curved members are spaced less than 2 cm from theirrespective fluted sections of the metering device when in the secondposition and, more preferably, less than 1 cm from the metering device.Thus, when a curved member 64 is between its respective portion of themeter roller assembly 24 and a respective portion of the dischargeopening 20, flow to the corresponding fluted section of the rotor 25will slow substantially and, preferably, stop altogether. It will beappreciated that when the curved member is in the lowered or closedposition, there may be a small gap between the curved member and thefluted rotor 25. In this regard, the “opening” between the section ofthe fluted rotor and the discharge opening of the hopper may not becompletely “closed” but the position of the curved member is below theangle of repose of the granular material so that the meter housingcannot be filled and presented to the air stream. This “starving” of therespective section of the fluted roller is sufficient to stop the flowof granular material to the distribution runs associated with thestarved section of the meter roller assembly. As shown in FIG. 4, thebulkhead has a raised edge 68 disposed between the meter roller assemblyand the lower end of the bulkhead. For the granular material to bepassed to the distribution runs, it must pass over the raised edge 68.As known in the art, there is a relatively small gap (not shown) betweenthe raised edge and the lower end of the meter roller assembly. When asection of the fluted rotor is being starved by its shut-off gateassembly being in the lowered, closed position, there will not be enoughgranular material that is allowed to pass into the sub-cavity associatedwith the starved fluted rotor to provide a material buildup sufficientto pass over the raised edge.

In a preferred embodiment, an agitator 70 is placed inside the hopper toprovide agitation of the granular material.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a single serviceopening 72 is formed on the lower end of the bulkhead 12 generallybeneath the meter roller assembly 24. The single service opening 72functions as both a drain port and as a service entrance. The serviceopening 72 is opened and closed by a service door 74 that is movable bya drive arm 76 that is pivotably coupled to the hopper 14. The rotor 25is mounted to the service door 74 by bearing end caps, of only which cap80 is viewable in the figures. Thus, when the service door 74 is movedaway from the bulkhead 12, as shown in FIG. 12, to open the serviceopening 72, the hopper and meter housing can be drained and/or the rotorcan be serviced or replaced.

It will therefore be appreciated that the present invention provides aseed metering assembly that improves upon the prior art. The assemblyprovides a curved shut-off member that when pivoted to a closed orlowered position to provide sectional control. The curved member isconstructed to pass easily through the meter housing cavity and veryclose to the meter roller thereby creating a small remaining volume, andthus has a quick response time from actuation to stoppage of materialflow. In one embodiment, the meter roller and the bearings are mountedto a service door for bottom removal of the roller meter assembly anddraining of the hopper/meter housing. In another embodiment, the meterhousing may have two service openings. One service opening for topremoval of the roller meter housing and another service opening fordraining the hopper and meter housing. The invention also provides ameter housing with substantial separation between fluted sections of afluted meter roller to reduce cross-flow between adjacent flutedsections, such as may otherwise occur because of uneven air distributionand flow.

Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. The scope of these changes willbecome apparent from the appended claims.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A method of providing sectional control duringseeding of a field using a farm implement having a hopper that holds avolume of granular material and has a discharge opening through whichthe granular material may exit the hopper, the method comprising:rotating a fluted metering roller as granular material passes throughthe discharge opening of the hopper, the fluted metering roller having anumber of fluted sections formed along a length of the roller; andselectively moving at least one of a number of flow control devices to aposition between the discharge opening of the hopper and the flutedmetering roller, each flow control device associated with a respectivefluted section of the number of fluted sections and wherein each flowcontrol device has a curved member that is placed between a portion ofthe discharge opening of the hopper and its respective fluted section tostop flow of granular material to the respective fluted section.